Coles accuses Woolworths of Anzac Day trading hours breach

Coles is accusing Woolworths of breaching Anzac Day retail laws. The supermarket giants are at loggerheads over the NSW trading hours that Woolworths allegedly broke on Monday.

Anzac Day is a restricted trading day in NSW, with large retailers and establishments not permitted to open before 1 p.m. Woolworths alleged breached this rule when its employees started work around 10 a.m. to prepare the stores.

Reports claimed that Woolworths started preparing fresh produce, making sushi, firing up the ovens for baking bread and stocking seafood and delicatessen counters. This allowed the stores to greet their customers with fresh goods including roast chickens upon opening at 1 a.m. A Coles staff also reported that Woolworths stores in suburban Sydney, Katoomba, Richmond and Parkes accepted deliveries from 9 a.m.

Coles now wants its rival to face fines for apparently breaching the trading hours restrictions, according to Australian Financial Review. If Woolworths has indeed broken the law, it could face fines of up to $11,000 per store. If the staff were found to be forced to work instead of “volunteering” before 1 p.m., Woolworths will face the same fines.

Woolworths, on the other hand, claimed that it did nothing wrong. The store preparation was allegedly carried out by volunteer salaried managers and not by members employed under enterprise agreements.

“This is in line with the NSW regulations. We were keen to ensure our customers’ shopping experience today, as on all days, met their expectations,” a spokeswoman told Fairfax Media.

Still, Coles questioned if the volunteers had the skills to make sushi.

Complex trading hours rules

NSW does not permit most businesses to open before 1 p.m. on Anzac Day. Small shops are permitted to trade, however, including chemists, petrol stations and convenience stores. In the past, the state government has turned a blind eye to retailers asking employees to prepare the stores before 1 p.m.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman that the trading hours laws aren’t that simple as they vary from state to state and from the size of the retailer.

“There were that many rules around it [opening], that it does make it complicated. This needs tightening up to make sure retailers know what the rules are so they don’t inadvertently flout the law,” Zimmerman told Smart Company.